TwiNj FF: The Storm in our Soul (Chp11 Pg22) 03/09 - Page 10

Hello beautiful people. Guess who is back?!

Its ME!! I am BACK!!

Yes I know I went AWOL for far too long but I am back and I am back with another chapter. I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Hope you like it. BTW how do you guys manage college and making such amazing posts?! I was literally drowning in school work this part 2 weeks.

Did you guys miss me?! Lord knows I missed you all too much for it to be healthy

CHAPTER EIGHT

One duffel bag for her, one for him and they are out the door. He has no idea, where they are going or how they are going to get there or for how many days they are going for. But as all things with Twinkle usually are, he decides to go with the flow.

"Ek minute yaha wait karo." She tells him and walks down the street towards Hilda's store. Her pale peach tulle skirt sashays behind delicately. He likes her in this new wardrobe of her, delicate skirts and flowing dresses. Purani jeans and faded band Tees. It somehow brings the innocence in her heart on her face. It was endearing to watch her. Really, just watching her, doing basic domestic chores would fill his heart with this unexplainable warmth, the way she chopped veggies, the way she sipped her tea, the way she would ever so slightly curl up to him. If that wasn't the cutest thing, he doesn't know what was.

She comes back, as promised, after a minute, spinning a set of keys around her dainty fingers.

An eyebrow raised in question and she shows rather than answers him. Grabs his hand in hers and drags him two streets down, to a garage. "Tada!"

It's a Vespa scooter. A pale blue one at that. It was perfectly something he could imagine Twinkle riding. And as he guessed, she struck the key in, ignited the engine and waved at him "Ab kya invitation doon? Chalo!"

"Twinkle-"

"Hilda ki beti ki thi. Woh ab isse use nahi karti. Okay? Ab no more questions."

She passes him a helmet, straps her own down and off they are through the cobbled paths of Italy.

It's a different kind of magic. Surreal, almost. Yellow walls, black balconies and red grapes along green vines. Fresh air, a speedy scooter and Twinkle. She expertly navigates the roads and perfectly balances the scooter despite its power. "Pata hai, Chinky aur mujhe bike chalana bhi aata hai. Yuvraj ne mujhe sikhaya aur maine Chinki, though Yuvi definitely better teacher tha. Maine toh bechari ko seekhate seekhate uska haat bhi thod diya" she says over the howling winds and goes on and on about some anecdotes connected to it, not bothering if he was actually paying attention to her or not. Turns out he was hearing what she was saying but not listening. Instead his attention was focused on the curve of her lips through the side view mirrors. Those pink petals shaped lips holding in a smile that just couldn't be contained and she had to pour out a laugh that despite its relevancy had him smiling.

She stops the scoter in a parking lot before he can make sense of the whole short journey and hops off the ride with the grace of some ethereal goddess. "Kunj... " she drags his name in a long hesitant whine. "Tum theek toh ho na? Khoye khoye lag rahe ho. Agar tumhe theek nahi lag raha toh hum ghar vapis jaa sakte hai. Yeh trip phir kabhi plan karlegey."

The concept of turning his back on a plan that she had initiated is next to impossible. He would go to the artic in his pyjamas if she asked for it!

He clears his throat and shakes his head when she calls out to him again. Assures her that he is fine and that they should definitely continue on with her plan. She looks apprehensively at him but after a little cajoling they grab their bags up and head towards the -

"Train station?" The hopped off the scoter just to hop on a train? What was going on in this lady's mind?!

"Haan, train station. Maine tumhe Italy main meri sabse favourite jagah le jana chahti hoon." She says excitedly. And then a beat later "It's okay na, Kunj? Agar tum nahi chahte toh-"

He quickly assures her that he was eager to see her favourite place in the whole of Italy' as she put it. He then asks her to grab the tickets from the counter while he waits by the benches with their luggage. It gives him a minute or two to himself alone, time to process and form an idea to bring back Twinkle's self-confidence.

It was obvious, ever since she had become Mrs. Twinkle Kunj Sarna, her confidence and self-worth had suffered. Always being blamed for things that she had no fault at and frequently being judged for her past did a number on her. Now she always questioned herself, questioned her ability and needed assurance often. Kunj was determined to restore the confidence she had lost. She walks back to him, waving the tickets as she does so but pockets them once she gets near him.

"Acha abhi bata bhi de, hum ja kaha rahe hai?"

She tilts her head up and purses her lips in thought. "Ummm, no! It's a surprise."

He was ready to argue further but then she grabs hold of his hand and pulls him down to sit by the nearest bench. She plops one leg over the other and leans her head against his shoulder sighing in content. Her fingers trace aimless patterns over the flesh of his arm and every now and then she runs her thumb over the skin, as an eraser.

The train that he assumes they were waiting for arrives on time, shining and magnificent. The doors open painfully slow for Twinkle who was impatiently bouncing up and down, trying to maintain a barely passable appearance of a proper functioning adult. She leaves the bags for him to carry and waits just outside the sliding doors of the carriage. The door thankfully opens in another minute.

She finds them a seat by the window. She takes the seat that faces the direction in which the train was going to travel, leaving him the opposite seat, justifying that sitting opposite to the motion of the train makes her dizzy. He frankly doesn't mind. He could be standing the whole train journey for all he cares. He stores the bag underneath their seat, only for her to pull hers out again. "Selfie toh banta hai!" and out she pulls her digital camera. She crosses over and plops down on the seat next to his. "Formaggio!"

She was unusually chatty today, he observed. The current topic that she seemed to go on and on about was her love for Italy and painting. She was spewing out artist's name faster than he could blink and it send him in a state of awe, watching her this verbose, this happy. Never had he had the privilege of watching her like this-a hundred and ten percent carefree and a hundred and twenty percent happy.

Was this the real Twinkle? Was this what he was missing out on before?

The train starts its journey with that familiar jerk motion. Twinkle just couldn't help clapping her hands together at that and sitting up straighter than before. "I am so so excited. And I am super sure tumhe yeh jagag se pyaar ho jayega!"

She glues her eyes against the window and falls silent suddenly, taking in the view the country had to offer. Ever so slowly the building gave way to more and more shrubbery and greenery until the concrete structure of civility was now the gently rolls of grassy hills.

She stresses it again after a while about how much he was going to love the place. She asks her again where is it that she was taking him, and she answers the same answer again. The caterer interrupts them here, asking them if they would like to have something. She order them 2 cups of Caf Au Lait and chocolate croissants in perfect Italian.

She sips on the coffee at a leisurely pace and he can't help but snatch the camera from the seat beside her and click a photo. He takes a look of the photo on the LCD display and Lord, she is beautiful. It's the most beautiful picture he has ever seen. The soft yellow sunlight played against her lashes, giving her orbs an almost hazel color instead of the chocolaty brown he knows them to be. Her hair shines like cascading waterfalls over her shoulder and her smile-don't let him start with her smile! He swears she could win over the world with that Twinkle wala' smile, his heart was merely a muscle.

Halfway through the journey she pulls out her music player and he tucks in the camera. "Aur 2 ghante aur hum waha paunch jayege." She plugs in the headphones in the designated area before crossing over the little distance between them and placing herself in the empty seat next to his. She plugs one end of the earphone in and offers him the other. He happily accepts. Now the only problem remained was the cord length. If only the manufacturers could keep the length of the wire little more than they had produced, Twinkle could comfortably sit in her seat and Kunj could comfortable be in tis. But these manufacturers like to play cupid, and the wire length forced Twinkle to rest her head against her husband's broad shoulder. Turns out she doesn't mind the length of the wire at all, and she won't admit it but they should hear music like this more often. Kunj places his head upon hers and both exhale a blissful sigh.

The two hours run out pretty quickly in Kunj's opinion. The two hours couldn't have ended quicker in Twinkle's. She is out of her seat, standing by the sliding door fifteen minutes before they were scheduled to arrive at the destination. Obviously Kunj couldn't contain her in her excited form and lets her be. The train chugs down to a halt and he grabs their bags, quickly making his way to the exit, lest she leave him behind in her excitement.

She was already off the train, standing square in the middle of the station, looking out to Lord knows what. Kunj makes a dash towards her, and raises his eyes to the sight that had her paralyzed in delight.

It takes his breath away, the sheer beauty of the place. His jaw drops open, he turns to Twinkle and sees her in the same condition. She mentioned that she had been here twice and yet the place never ceased to amaze her.

"Welcome to the Dolomites, Mr. Kunj Sarna." She says a minute later, after composing herself enough and places her hand along his jaw to shut his mouth. She laces her hand through his and gently gives him a tug, indicating for him to walk. Hand in hand they make their way out of the train station and into the town.

Each step bought them closer to the humongous mountain range, the grey rocks that kissed the blue skies and the crystal waters that tickled the valleys. It was magical. They walked down the yellow cobbled streets and each step took their breath away. They passed by a bakery, and the aroma! The aroma he swears was from the gardens of the heavens itself.

They stop by a lodge. Dolomite Dawn' was run by a middle aged couple. The female counterpart was a curvaceous darling, dressed in a knee length frock and an apron around her round waist. The male, was a too, a chubby man, balding slightly at the hairline. Italian was Twinkle's love language and therefore her responsibility to get them a room.

It wasn't a luxurious five star affair, and frankly they weren't looking for that sort of a deal, rather it was the modest and humble abode, consisting of a dark wood bed, a side table and a tiny closet, two chairs in the balcony and a table in between it.

The couple informs them to ring them up if they require anything and that dinner will be ready at 8, if they chose to have dinner with them. Kunj and Twinkle politely decline, wanting to spend the day in each other's company solely. The lady shakes Twinkle's hand and smiles at her fondly every now and then. Once the owners show them their room and leave, Twinkle plops down on the bed, spreading her arms wide and lets out a sigh. "Thodi der aaram kar lete hai, phir ghum ne chalegey." She orders rather than informing him. So Kunj does what was told and chances a shower.

By the time he emerges, fresh and clean, from the bathroom, he finds Twinkle curled up on the chair in the balcony like a lazy cat without a care in the world. She turns around to face him, when she hears the wooden floor creaking under his steps. She smiles at him, he smiles back before she makes her way to their luggage and pulls out a change of clothes.

Her outfit of choice for this day was the light white sundress, that she expertly paired with a black leather jacket to fight the cold. Thigh high socks in maroon and black boots completed her ensemble. Kunj on the other hand, dons his favorite pair of ripped jeans, a tee that flaunted his ripped biceps and a black leather jacket as well.

The day was well into his evening glow and trekking seemed out of the question. So they decide to stroll through the town.

The stop by a small shop, selling rather sad clayed mini replicas of the Dolomite Mountains, other souvenirs included key-chains, bracelets, picture frames and sundry display items. Twinkle, as he had noticed before was uncharacteristically chatty today. Though she didn't intend on buying anything from that particular shop, she started having a conversation with the teenaged boy assisting the store. It ended up with him, giving her the best keychain he had in store because in his words Magical'. And true to some degree, a soft glow appeared on her face. The rest of the time was spend with them talking small talks, clicking pictures of the amazing view and with each other.

The street lights weren't that bright and as evening approached, they were gifted with a sky that was dotted with a million stars shining with so much grandeur that they just had to stop and take in the view.

They stop for dinner in a small independent restaurant. Ravioli, Tiramisu and wine. Laughter, shy smiles and candle light. That's the best one could describe their evening. But of course there was more to it than meets the eye, like the way Twinkle held Kunj's hand under the table, or the way he poured her wine and offered her the first bite of the dessert that they shared.

The restaurant was playing live music and with a spark of spontaneity that was more suited for Twinkle than Kunj, he offers her his hand and pulls her out to the little clear space in front of the band. He places his hand delicately on her waist, she places her around his neck, ever so slightly ticking the baby hair at the back of his neck. And they sway. One step forward, one step back. A step to the right, one to the left and a dip.

Seeing them, other couples join in on the impromptu ball, but neither Kunj nor Twinkle notice. They however notice each other. The way her lips slightly dipped before curving upward in that smile. The way the little dimple on his chin jiggled a little as he smiled. The way her lashes flittered as she lowers her gaze in embarrassment and the way he always bit his lips before breaking out in a grin.

The song draws to an end just as he gives Twinkle a final dip, before the trance that they had been lost in for so long was shattered by the cheering crowd. The request for another song was made by anonymous person in the group but Twinkle and Kunj decided that they had covered the dancing quota for the night. He pays their bill and leaves a generous tip, for reasons unknown by his elated heart and muddled mind.

And they start walking again. Hand in hand, fingers laced together tightly and destination unknown. Kunj was a person who always had a purpose in mind, a journey with a well mapped road, he really wasn't the one to thread on land uncharted. And yet...Here he is walking with Twinkle in a town he hasn't even heard of, gazing up at the stars, gazing down at her smile and he thinks that he can live like this forever-destination unknown-as long as she was by his side.

"Kunj Gelato!" breaks him out of his reverie.

"Sorry, Kya?"

"Kunj chalo Gelato kha te hai." She says pointing her finger towards the little blue and white stall at the end of the road.

He never had the heart to deny her anything and so they have Gelato. She goes for the lemon mint gelato with strawberry bobba and Kunj swears her tastes are just as wild as her. He goes for the more tamed flavors of watermelon. "Acha, Watermelon kabse normal flavor hogaya? Aur tumse kisne kaha ki, lemon mint wild flavor hai?" she pokes her fingers in his chest accusingly, though there was nothing accusing in her tone.

They decide to drop the topic and just enjoy the sight and company. Licking on the melting ice, they walk back to Dolomite Dawn', greet Ingrid and James (the owner) before retiring to their room. They change back into their pajamas, she pulls on her fleece jacket and fuzzy sock before they climb into bed. The room was blanketed in utter darkness and it takes Twinkle an awful lot of time to adjust herself to a comfortable position. First she pulls of her socks, turns her back to him and lies still. A minute later she tosses herself back to face him, pulls of her jacket and finally gives on any pretense of sleep. "Kunj?" And he knows it's going to be a long night.

"Hmm,"

"So gaye?"

"Hmm."

She pokes her finger into his side to test his statement and being the tickle sensitive soul he is, he lets out a loud chuckle. She snickers at her success. "Kya hua, Bol?" he asks her a while later.

She decides to pillow her head against his bare chest, crossing her arms over his waist, before speaking. "Mujhe neend nahi aa rahi." She says, as simple as that.

He asks her to read a book to pass her time, she makes up an excuse of the book being boring. He suggests to count sheep's, she looks at him unbelievingly. He gives up at the third attempt and asks her what it was that she had on her mind. She wants to talk. Talk about what? He asks. About love she says. It blows over the fuse in his mind and his eyes pop out of their sockets. His tongue knots on itself and his words as gibberish noise.

"I love you" It's a declaration so softly worded in the darkness of the night, that he feels rather than hears them. A confession so pure that it lights a bonfire in the pits of his bottomless heart. "I love you a lot Kunj." And he chokes on his words this time. Because this was what he was unknowingly been waiting for. She raises her gaze to meet him, only to blush at the unalloyed feeling reflected in the depth of his orbs and lower them again.

He grabs her chin and makes her look back him, makes sure that his eyes convey at least a part of his feelings and prays that his tongue doesn't fail him now. He licks his lips, because lord knows how dry this throat suddenly has become before uttering back "I love you too, Twinkle. Main tujhse beinthaan mohabbat karta hoon." She hugs him tight at this. And he hugs her right back.

It wasn't a grand confession, nothing spectacular but oh so beautiful. It wasn't I love you Kunj' spelled out in the sky in white by a Cesna nor was it I love you Twinkle' tattooed across his heart in black ink. It was a whisper, a secret, trickling out from her heart, travelling the expanse of inches between them and finding home in his heart. It was a requited response voiced with feeling so untainted it could be the symbol for purity.

They don't let go of each other for a very long time. Her hand finds home by the nape of his back, playing with the baby hair there, while his traces a path up and down the length of her spine. They break away-not apart-only to settle into a more comfortable position and she speaks again. "Ek baat kahoon?" she asks. He hums a yes. "Shayad jo mere aur Yuvi ke beech jo bhi tha, woh ek hadh tak pyaar ho sakta hai, par jo humare beech hai na Kunj who pyaar se badh kar hai. Kabhi kabhi main apne aap ko kous ti hoon, Yuvi se pyaar karne ke liye par aaj kal lagne laga hai ki, shyad mera usse pyaar karna jaroori tha, taki main asli, honest to god, pure wala love ko samaj pao aur uski kadar kar saku."

And though her words made little sense, Kunj understood them crystal clear. Because what she was trying to say is that what she and Yuvi had was that first, puppy love. That love that broke your heart only for true love to seep in and mend the cracks in gold. Because what she was trying to say was that First love and true love were two different things. That your first love isn't always your true love and that your true love isn't always your first love. That your first love is always unforgettable because it shakes you, it breaks you it makes you cry it makes you laugh, but most importantly it teaches you. It teaches you what true love really is and the value for it. What Twinkle was trying to say was that their love wasn't her first love, that their love wasn't solely love but so much more than that. Their love was love and reverence and respect and veneration. It was placing each other before themselves and prioritizing each other's happiness.

"I know Twinkle." He tells her because he honestly knows. They both needed a heartbreak-her from Yuvi and him from Alisha. She smiles at him because she knows, he knows.

She kisses him on his stubbly cheek before snuggling closer to his chest and promptly dozing off. Kunj soon follows but not before draping his arm across her waist and pulling her a little more close.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Well guys that the end of this chapter. I hope it was worth the wait. Please drop down a comment to let me know how you liked this chapter. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Originally posted by: MeDHellsAngel

Res

Unres.

Hi dear.

How are you?

Finally uh showed up 😊

Honestly i missed uh so much, this and your other story too.

Just love both.

And this update was indeed worth waiting.

I loved it to the core. Seriously.

You are a wonderful writer.

Reading your description, i missed one really beautiful place. Like really beautiful.

Anyways. Continue soon.

BTW its really difficult to manage skul/college as well as IF.